Ten years ago, when I moved to Shanghai from Siberia, I had no idea I’d end up living in a community of Russians—or rather, amid the phantom presence of a Russian city.

In the 1920s and ’30s, a large Russian diaspora occupied central Shanghai; now I am walking in their footsteps, attempting to conjure what this Russian town in China was like.

Refugees fled from Russia after the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 and the civil war that followed. Many settled in Harbin, benefiting from the economy of the China Eastern Railway.

Eventually, many moved on to Shanghai, attracted by the opportunities of the port city. By World War II about 27,000 Russians resided in Shanghai, making up the largest Western expatriate community in this cosmopolitan city.

One of Shanghai’s old Russian districts

Most emigrants were poor, stateless, language-challenged and with large families to support—quite unlike the well-groomed, well-connected British, Americans and French making their fortune along the Bund.

But the Russians made this city their home and transformed its face forever.

TASTE OF HOME

The best place to start a journey across Russian Shanghai is the corner of Huaihai and Maoming roads. The Cathay Cinema, a glamorous art-deco edifice, anchors a block lined with historic storefronts.

The art deco Cathay CinemaHistoric storefronts on Huaihai Road

Back in the ’30s almost all of these shops were Russian enterprises—bakeries, haberdasheries, jewelers, watchmakers, pharmacies, shoe shops and libraries.

Cozy Russian tearooms created a craze for afternoon tea with sweets and pastries; boisterous restaurants served traditional soups, pies and grilled meats accompanied by shots of ice-cold vodka from local distilleries.

Today the occupants of these storefronts are mostly global chains, but some ‘patriarchs’ survive, like the Red House Restaurant at 847 Huaihai Road, opposite the cinema.

Once called Chez Louis, it kept international cuisine alive through the years of Communism, and still serves adaptations of Western food, including borscht.

A PLACE TO CALL HOME

Walking past Red House, we continue along Huaihai Road toward the cast-iron gate at No 833. It leads to Linda Terrace, a housing complex built in 1922 by the Russian architect Alexander Yaron and that served the Russian community for more than 30 years.

The entrance to Linda Terrace at 833 Huaihai Road

Its proprietors would rent out rooms and beds, with meals or without. Sometimes even storage cabinets under the stairs were rented for lodging. Poorer tenants would find themselves in a windowless ‘pencil case’ the width of a wooden plank serving as a bed.

Houses that doubled as home offices in Linda TerraceLook at the ancient balconies along Linda Terrace

The alley passing through Linda Terrace opens to Nanchang Road, once nicknamed Nahalovka (‘the squats’ in Russian), where we turn left.

Nanchang Road was once lined with Russian-language signs for shops selling traditional dairy products, liquor, canned snacks and sausages—produced in Shanghai or imported from Manchuria.

At the intersection with Ruijin Road look diagonally across, at the green marquee of the Chinese bakery Laodachang.

Like many local brands, it is a successor of an old Russian enterprise. Opened in the 1920s by the brothers Tchakalian, this bakery made the best French pastries and bread in town.

SPIRITED AWAY

Skirting along the right side of the bakery, we follow Ruijin Road for half a block, until a little street appears on the left.

Gaolan Road is one of the prettiest alleys in the city. It is quiet and lined with imposing villas, some of which have become shared apartments while others have been converted back into homes for affluent families.

Following Gaolan Road we soon get to the Kinloch coffee house, at No 16. Its wooden open-air terrace is shaded by the abandoned Orthodox church, with unmistakable onion-shaped domes.

The church was built in 1934 with contributions from the Russian community and dedicated to the memory of the last tsar, Nicholas II. As soon as the building was completed it became a spiritual heart of Russian Shanghai.

For years I’ve been walking past this abandoned church and one spring morning in 2010, I arrived for the first Orthodox mass to be held here in 50 years. A children’s choir animated the space with an otherworldly vibe, their voices reverberating within the cavernous whitewashed walls.

The old Russians may have long departed (the community disbanded after 1945) but a handful of Russian visitors, all recent expatriates, fixed their gaze on a priest in golden robes, standing before a row of pleather sofas, beneath a suspended disco ball left by the last tenant, a French restaurant.

Do you have memories of Russian Shanghai? Share them with Momentum with #momentumtravel.

Photos: Main image-Alamy; other images-Katya Knyazeva

Katya Knyazeva

Katya Knyazeva is a journalist and a photographer from Siberia who has been living in Shanghai since 2006. She gives walking tours with a focus on history and architecture, has published a historical atlas on the old port area of Shanghai and is completing work on the history of the walled city.

2 comments

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Hi,
I am wondering where the very first photo in the article originated from. Oddly, my husband and I moved into a new apartment 4 years ago and we have a beautiful painting of this exact scene, left by the old tenants. We had actually thought it was somewhere in France or Italy, so I’m shocked to find this article and discover it is Shanghai! Please, tell me any information you have about this photo!
Thanks 🙂

This is an old photo of the Bund in Shanghai, taken in the 1920s. The area used to house foreign banks and international trading houses from Europe and the US, which explains the architecture style of the historic buildings you see in the photo. Hope this helps!

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With thousands of breathtaking options on offer, deciding where to holiday in Indonesia can be hard work. That’s why we’ve come up with 10 simple questions to steer you towards your perfect island partner.

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Lombok

Best for: beaches

The beaches of Indonesia are the stuff of castaway fantasies. There are literally thousands to choose from, but the place that best combines extraordinary beauty with the convenience of easy transport links is Lombok – you can fly direct, or nip over on a fast boat from Bali.

There are beaches on the island for every occasion, but the standout for many visitors is Mawun. It goes without saying that Mawun has white sand and stunning, turquoise water, but the bonus here is the seclusion of an enclosed bay. The beach is rarely busy, and at “off-peak” times there’s a very real chance of having it all to yourself.

Another winner is Senggigi Beach, where can sit on the sand and watch the surfers do their stuff (or, if you’re so inclined, borrow a board and join in).

Jimbaran or Nusa Dua, Bali

Best for: children and teenagers

Older kids will love Jimbaran in Bali for its range of watersports. Close your eyes and try not to worry as you send them off parasailing, jet skiing, water skiing or bouncing along on a banana boat.

If you want to take it down a notch, there’s snorkeling and learning about turtle conservation.

If you’ve got younger kids, you might want to stay at a family-friendly resort to make use of the various kids clubs. (It’s your break, too, and it’s easier to relax by the pool knowing that your child is being professionally entertained in a purpose-built playroom.)

If you’re trying to cater for more than one age group, you might want to take a look at The Westin Resort in Nusa Dua, Bali. They have a “teen zone” packed with PlayStations and dedicated clubs for both toddlers and younger kids.

Ubud, Bali

Best for: wellness

If your holiday packing is pretty much sun cream and yoga pants, and you like to come back from time away cleansed and invigorated, Ubud is for you.

Ubud is Bali’s center for healing, and in fact the name of the area comes from Ubad, which means medicine. This is the place to head for the full menu of luxury spas, Ayurvedic treatments, acupuncture or panchakarma programs.

Ubud is also Bali’s cultural nexus, and you can easily fill your days with temples and art galleries, ceremonies and dancing, and great cuisine.

After all that, enjoy a hedonistic four-handed massage before settling into bed to re-read Eat, Pray, Love.

Kuta, Bali

Best for: partying

With a reputation for good times, busy, crowded Kuta in Bali draws a young, energetic crowd ready to party.

Days are spent swimming, shopping, sunbathing or just chilling. Nightlife ranges from places where you buy beer by the bucket to the kind of upscale establishments where the barman takes care not to bruise the gin in your martini.

It’s not the prettiest of places on the island, or the most authentically Balinese, but it has an appealingly brash, good-humored vibe all of its own.

If hardcore partying isn’t your thing, you’ll also find a few quieter, less high-octane places for watching sunset turn into sunrise.

Yogyakarta, Java

Best for: cultural experiences

As it’s the history, culture and ceremonies of a new place that thrill you, you’ll probably find Yogyakarta the perfect destination.

This is the city where Java began, a place that was a powerhouse in the 8th and 9th centuries, and an opportunity for modern visitors to enjoy fascinating Javanese arts and traditions at every turn.

Beyond the urban sprawl are two of Indonesia’s most astounding archaeological sites: Borobudur and Prambanan. The Mahayana Buddhist temple at Borobudur boasts nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome, while the UNESCO World Heritage-listed temple compounds at Prambanan makes for a stunning spectacle in the style of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.

Thanks to Yogyakarta’s surprisingly mild climate, a bit of exploring won’t leave you exhausted. That’s good news as there’s still the Sultan’s Palace to see, local silversmiths to admire in action at Kotagede, and endless pavement stalls selling the must-try local specialty gudeg: a stew of jackfruits simmered in coconut cream and served with chicken, egg or tofu.

Jakarta, Java

Best for: urban buzz

Beaches are OK, but who wants to spend a couple of weeks just lying in the sun? If you find lazing around a recipe for boredom, then your best bet is Jakarta.

From the aromatic, old-fashioned streets of Chinatown to the crazy nightlife in North Jakarta, you really can have any experience you like in this city of 10 million people.

You’ll find haute couture in Plaza Indonesia and the Grand Indonesia shopping town, but bargain hunters will be in heaven in the wholesale textile malls of Tanah Abang.

For a Jakartan market with edge, head to Pasar Santa on Jalan Wolter Monginsidi. This was a conservative indoor market until 2014, when it was transformed by a group of young entrepreneurs who wanted to use it to showcase their start-up companies. Now Pasar Santa has a unique mix of style-conscious places to eat, vinyl record stores, vintage clothing shops and cool coffee lounges. We promise you’ll go for the shopping and stay for the people watching.

Lombok’s Gili islands

Best for: diving

The Gili islands off the northwestern coast of Lombok are famed for their fantastic diving. The conditions are rarely difficult, the current is near non-existent, and you’ll pretty much always have at least 20m of visibility for spotting the first-class marine life.

Advanced divers will enjoy the deeper reefs, which have vast areas of pristine coral, swathes of hard corals and brightly colored fans.

A speedboat from Lombok’s main beach resort of Senggigi gets you to the trio of islands in around 20 minutes.

Trawangan (which everyone refers to as Gili T) is the funkiest of the three with chic bars and cool restaurants. Gili Air is more traditional and Meno is the least developed.

In recent times the waters surrounding Lombok have been intently watched by conservationists, so turtles are a common sight once again. You may also come face-to-face with a manta ray, reef sharks or even the rare Mola mola – the heaviest bony fish in the world, capable of weighing more than 950kg.

Not desperate to swim rapidly away from a fish that weighs much the same as your car? Fear not: there are endless colorful, pleasingly small fish pottering about in the shallows, too.

Lampung, Sumatra

Best for: wildlife

Lampung is an easy hop from Jakarta—take a 40-minute flight, or a seven-hour bus trip, your call—and you’ll soon be surrounded by what the World Wildlife Fund has called ‘one of the planet’s most biologically outstanding habitats.’

Elephants inhabit the rainforest of the Way Kambas National Park, while Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is home to Sumatran rhinos and tigers. The park is also famous for the many bird species that prefer foothill climates, as well as for several species of sea turtle that nest along its coastal zone.

While you’re in Sumatra it would be remiss not to give a few coins to help orangutans. There are now less than 700 in the wild, making them critically endangered. It feels unimaginable that orangutans share 97 percent of our DNA and yet could be extinct in 20 years.

The one piece of nature that you don’t want to see at its most magnificent is Mount Krakatoa. Happily dormant right now, the volcano holds the record for creating the loudest sound ever heard in modern history: its 1883 eruption was audible up to 3,000 miles away.

Nusa Dua, Bali

Best for: loved-up luxe

Many resorts in Indonesia are aimed at honeymooners, but the neatly groomed enclave of Nusa Dua in Bali turns the sense of seclusion and luxe up a notch.

Just 14km southeast of Kuta, it’s easy to get to, unlike some of Indonesia’s more remote beauty spots. (After all, nothing ruins a romantic holiday in paradise faster than three hours uncomfortably bouncing on a wooden speedboat.)

The beautifully quiet coastal stretch is home to an array of five-star resorts, fully mod-conned-up, with plenty of spas and options for candle-lit dinners on the beach.

There’s a reason that Bali is the most famous island in Indonesia. It’s because it’s easily the best all-rounder, with a beautiful hinterland of volcanic mountains and rice paddies and some pretty outstanding beaches. There are so many that you can even chose your preferred sand color—soft and white in the south; exotic volcanic black in the west.

The Kuta-Legian-Seminyak strip is an 8km sweep of golden sand that’s well known as a weekend hangout for visitors who’ve hopped over from Australia. Now, however, it’s increasing in appeal to other travelers drawn to chic restaurants and designer shops.

Hardcore divers will gravitate towards Malibu Point for glimpses of sharks, tuna and manta rays, while snorkelers will enjoy Crystal Bay, where the clearest water in the region offers visibility between 30-50m.

Honeymooning couples head toward the luxury of Nusa Dua, party people take on Kuta and parents simply find one of the many child-friendly resorts and hunker down while the kids clubs do all the work.

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Answered

Review

Question 1 of 10

1. Question

What is your personal paradise?

Some proper quality time with a loved one

At least five minutes where the kids aren’t hitting each other

A butler, chilled towels and your own plunge pool

Being cast away on an idyllic beach

Correct

Incorrect

Question 2 of 10

2. Question

What’s on your 90s pop mix tape?

The 90s? Mix tape?

My Heart Will Go On, Waterfalls, anything by Boyz II Men

To be honest, I was always more of a jazz fan

Baby Got Back, Everlong, Smells Like Teen Spirit

Correct

Incorrect

Question 3 of 10

3. Question

Which of these most appeals to you?

Downward dog

Downing beer

Down-filled duvets

Down under the sea

Correct

Incorrect

Question 4 of 10

4. Question

After a holiday, is your camera filled with shots of:

Selfies in hotlist restaurants and bars

Various degrees of sunburn after leisurely beach days

Awe-inspiring ancient temples and monuments

Wild creatures you spent hours tracking on foot

Correct

Incorrect

Question 5 of 10

5. Question

If your friends planned a surprise for you, would you like it to be:

A big night out with drink and dancing aplenty

A quiet party over a BBQ in the back garden

Shopping!

Front-row tickets at the ballet or opera

Correct

Incorrect

Question 6 of 10

6. Question

Complete this sentence: “The buzz of a big city makes me feel…”

Alive!

Old!

Lost!

Confused!

Correct

Incorrect

Question 7 of 10

7. Question

A friend tells you they’ve spent the morning aligning their chakras. Do you…

Stifle a giggle

Swap meditation techniques

Outdo them with tales of the amazing reiki treatment you had last week

Wish you didn’t have kids in the house so you could indulge in some meditation too

Correct

Incorrect

Question 8 of 10

8. Question

When you’re sitting on your suitcase trying to squash it closed, is it because you’ve tried to squeeze in:

Your phone, iPad, laptop and other gadgets, plus all their chargers

Your youngest's oversized teddy that he refuses to go anywhere without

Wetsuit, snorkels and face mask

A few extra pairs of going-out shoes, “just in case”

Correct

Incorrect

Question 9 of 10

9. Question

The great outdoors is…

Awesome. Give me wellies and binoculars and I’m happy

Tiresome. It’s the boring bit between cities

An adventure. I don’t mind roughing it to get truly into the wild

Fine, as long as I've got sand between my toes

Correct

Incorrect

Question 10 of 10

10. Question

How do you feel about Finding Nemo?

It’s a stunning representation of life under the sea

I liked it until the kids made me watch it a thousand times

I’ve never seen it. Is it the one about a genie?

I see what you’re doing here. You want to know if I love diving. Just ask. I do!